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Post by greensheepuk on Mar 20, 2013 23:07:30 GMT
Well I've been wanting to try this for a while and finally got all the bits together today so gave it a go! I used one of many internet recipes and bought my rennet on ebay and citric acid from Wilkos. the milk was bog standard supermarket whole milk:           Suffice to say the final product was: - Under salted - Tough/Rubbery - Slightly sour tasting BUT IT WAS MOZZARELLA! lol and I'm VERY proud of it! I think there may be some more to come from this one! JK |
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Post by Fat Bob on Mar 21, 2013 1:45:25 GMT
Where did you get bog standard supermarket water buffalo milk?
You didn't mess about you made loads!
You needn't have used rennet just bring the milk to the boil and add lemon juice - you made Paneer, Indian cheese if you used cow milk. Best to press it for a bit and fry before adding to a curry.
Our fav recipe is Mattar Panner - cheese and pea cury.
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Post by greensheepuk on Mar 21, 2013 8:10:26 GMT
I think it's pretty widely accepted that anything simply labelled 'mozzarella', like this thread, is cows milk. Also after being advised many times that lemon juice can be problematic, especially for a beginner due to varying levels of acidity from one lemon to another, I saw no reason not to use rennet, the rest of the cheese industry does.
I'm not sure if you're referring to my end product as Paneer or my drained curds? I guess the curds if pressed further could be considered Paneer although I'm not sure of the acidity levels. Saying that, I am sure that Paneer is a vegetarian cheese so the calf rennet in mine would rule that out.
JK
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Post by h12rpo on Mar 21, 2013 11:07:46 GMT
As an aside.......how on earth does one milk a water buffalo.? They always look rather angry whenever you see them on tv .....I wouldnt fancy that job !
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Post by rivergirl on Mar 21, 2013 11:16:10 GMT
I was bought a cheese making book for Christmas but have still not got around to making any!! You have made me want to dig it out though!!
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Post by limpopomark on Mar 21, 2013 12:01:43 GMT
Nice balls, JK. Thanks for sharing hem with us!
As an aside for Fat Bob, halloumi & pea curry is my favourite. Cyprio-Indian fusion, I suppose you could call it. Been thinking about making paneer here, will post if we actually do.
merry cheesemas,
mark
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Post by Fat Bob on Mar 21, 2013 12:04:59 GMT
Halloumi is a good substitute in curry as it is a more robust cheese - can be a bit salty though.
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Post by rivergirl on Mar 21, 2013 12:30:28 GMT
Bob do you make your own as well??
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Post by cannyfradock on Mar 21, 2013 17:09:47 GMT
JK
Thank-you for sharing and detailing this so well. On the week-end the wife asked me if I know how to make Mozzerella......nope!! was my reply.......a few days later and the recipe popped up on the forum....can't believe my luck......bookmarked and saved!!!
Terry
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Post by cannyfradock on Mar 21, 2013 17:58:56 GMT
JK
Just to be cheeky.....can you explain the stages from cutting the formed (rennet?) to forming the mozzarella balls. Do you warm the chunks in water before forming?
terry
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Post by Fat Bob on Mar 21, 2013 18:13:34 GMT
Bob do you make your own as well?? Make Paneer - not Halloumi. Never had problems using lemon, you use very little. Picked up a very informative 1950's book on cheese making last year - better read it! Though in UK in 1950's they were not probably into exotic foreign cheeses. Just found this site that sells vegetarian rennet and has a Mozzarella kit (though it contain animal rennet I reckon). Lots of other stuff on the site. www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/242-FAQ-Mozzarella.html |
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Post by greensheepuk on Mar 21, 2013 19:08:57 GMT
JK Just to be cheeky.....can you explain the stages from cutting the formed (rennet?) to forming the mozzarella balls. Do you warm the chunks in water before forming? terry Yeah no problem, I'll also post the 2 part recipe video that I used from youtube. I'm sure there are more detailed tutorials out there but that recipe was easy to follow and had all the detail i needed in one place. The curds (rennet is an enzyme used to curdle/split the milk, either animal of vegetable based, available as liquid or tablet) were cut into equal sized chunks as you can see then loosely piled on a slotted spoon and into water at 170-180F for 1-2mins, just long enough for all the pieces to come up to temperature and soften (you can test one of the top pieces with a knife to see if it's soft). Then I flipped the contents of the spoon over onto my hand (double latex gloved/rubber gloved, it's hot!). You then gently form the lump of curd into a sausage shape then fold it over onto itself, flip 90degrees and do the same thing. After doing this 2-3 times the curds should have combined into a coarse 'dough' which you should then season with a generous pinch of salt. Then you stretch the cheese instead of forming, fold it back over onto itself, rotate 90degrees and repeat. This stretching will develop the correct texture. Once you're happy with the texture you then form the typical mozzarella ball (it handles similar to a dough ball) then into cold water, once its cool you can wrap in cling film to store. From the reading I've done so far I think its the stretching/forming process that has both the most to gain and the most to loose for the cheese. Stretching develops the fibrous texture of the cheese but if it's over done (or not done correctly) then it's also where most of the moisture is lost hence a cheese that's too dry/rubbery. I think the moisture content of the curds prior to reheating also has an impact on this. I've still got a lot of reading to do though and will no doubt have another couple of goes this weekend, looking forward to it! Part 1: Part 2 should be easy enough to find JK |
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Post by greensheepuk on Mar 21, 2013 21:48:53 GMT
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Post by cannyfradock on Mar 21, 2013 23:02:12 GMT
JK Now you're just showing off....and I love it!!!. Please keep your posts coming.... Terry p.s......very often when I can't answer a question on oven building I rely heavily on the members for answers and they always come up trumps. I can however usually find a link connected to a particular subject and with the pictures people post accompanying a thread, these links are very useful in relating back to a particular question. Likewise I shall try your Mozzarella recipe as I can always relate back to your thread on each stage. Besides, if it all goes pear shaped I know who to blame  ....only joking.... Terry |
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Post by greensheepuk on Mar 22, 2013 17:42:03 GMT
Lol, well I'm just halfway through my second attempt and have already made a few improvements:
- After adding the rennet last time I noticed that the instructions on the bottle said to use far less than I actually added by following the YouTube recipe, so this time I followed the bottle directions and the milk didn't split at all! So I added more according to the first batch/recipe and it was perfect!
- The biggest improvement so far this time was to heat the milk further after adding the rennet to firm the curds up. Essentially add the rennet at 90F, leave for 10 mins to split and set lightly, then slice and heat to 105f and move the curds around very gently for 5 mins then drained into the cheese cloth. The curds were much better formed and the whey is clearer than last time.
Jk
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....only joking....